Woman&#39;s shoulder-supported garment



20 2- E. B. CLARK 2,299,463

WOMAN 5 SHOULDER- SUPPORTED GARMENT Filed Jan. 25 1941 ATTORNEY azamvzm Patented Oct. 20, 1942 WOMANS SHOULDER-SUPPORTED GARMENT Elizabeth Bunker Clark, New York, N. Y., assignor to the William Carter Company, Needham Heights, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 25, 1941, Serial No. 375,874

2 Claims.

This invention relates to womans undergarments, and more specifically to womens shoulder-supported garmentsparticularly slips and chemises.

It is an object of this invention to provide a womans undergarment which will have formfitting features in the upper section designed to give asnug fit beneath and across the bust by reason of a novel back and shoulder strap construction, while incorporating features providing superior flexibility which will permit ready passage of the garment over the head, shoulders and bust, or over the hips and bust, in donning the garment, and also permit freedom of action when the garment is positioned on the wearer without tendency of the shoulder straps to bind or cut into the skin of the wearer.

In addition, the construction is such that the shoulder straps are better retained in position, thus avoiding the common tendency of the shoulder straps used in such garments to fall off the wearers shoulders.

The accompanying drawing illustrates a preferred form of my garment construction as incorporated in a womans slip.

Fig. l is a front view of the slip;

Fig. 2 is a back view of the slip;

Fig. 3 is a side View of the upper portion of the slip, in a position roughly simulating the position of the garment when worn; and

Fig, 4 is a back view of the slip with the shoulder straps dropped in back relative to the remainder of the garment.

As shown, the slip includes a lower body or skirt portion comprising a front panel 2, side panels 4 and 6, and a back panel 8, each of the side panels 4 and 6 being seamed along vertical seams to the front and back panels 2 and 8. As shown, these panels may be suitably flared V in order to provide a wider circumference at the bottom hem of the garment. The front panel 2 and front portions of side panels 4 and 6 terminate at the top along a seam line If], which is designed to coincide generally with the lower bust line of the wearer. As shown, this seam line extends upwardly from each side of the garment to a meeting point centrally of the front of the garment. Rear portions of side panels 4 and B and the back panel 8 terminate at the top along a seam line I2, extending substantially horizontally across the back of the garment and forming substantially a continuation of the seam line Ill in front. The portions of the garment above this lower bust seam line include two front duplex panels l4 and. [6, each individually shaped to provide a fullness designed to follow the contour of the body in the front bust area, and joined by a central vertical seam l8. In back, the upper portion of the garment is formed of two partially overlapping crisscross, trapezoidal panels, 20 and 22, designed both in contour and in seam location with relation to the front bust-panels, to provide the particular advantages of this invention.

Thus, each panel 20 and 22 has a bottom edge seamed across the back to the skirt portion along the seam l2, and has two upper edges meeting at a connection with a shoulder strap, one on either side of the center line of the back. One of the upper edges of each panel is longer than the other upper edge. Thus the longer upper edge 26 of the outer back panel 22 extends downwardly from a shoulder strap connection to a point of anchorage 28 substantially adjacent the lower circumferential bust line at the opposite side of the garment, while the shorter upper edge 30 of the panel 22 extends somewhat downwardly to a point of anchorage at 32 at the top of a side seam 34, which joins the back panel 22 with the front panel M. The edge 30 thus is substantially a continuation of the front upper edges, and the anchorage point 32 is disposed along a circumferential upper bust line.

Similarly, the under panel 20 has a longer upper edge 36 extending downwardly to an inside anchorage point 33 substantially adjacent the lower circumferential bust line at the opposite side of the garment, and a shorter upper edge 40 extending downwardly to an anchorage point 42 substantially on the upper circumferential bust line, where it is anchored to the front panel It at the top of a side seam 44 joining the back panel 2!] with the front-panel Iii. The edge 40 thus forms a continuation of the front bust area edge at the other side of the garment.

The back panels 20 and 22 are seamed together only along the seam line [2, at the anchorage points 28 and 38, and along the side seams 34 and 44 below the anchorage points 28 and 38. Therefore, the upper edges 26 and 36 of the two panels 26 and 22 are free to move relative to one another,

As shown in the drawing, the shoulder straps may be conveniently formed by providing the garment along all its upper edges with tape bindings 53 which are brought together at the shoulder strap connection points and seamed together over the shoulder portions to form the two shoulder straps 45 and 46, the shoulder straps thus being connected to the garment at the apexes of the front and back upper panels on each side of the garment by integral tape material seamed to the front and back panel upper edges.

In addition, where the garment is formed of knit material, it is preferred to form the front and back panels I4, I6, 29 and 22 with the knit material .50 disposed as to have the wales running horizontally of the garment, as indicated in the drawing.

With such a construction, when the garment is positioned on the wearer, the pull of the shoulder straps 45 and 46 is distributed at the back of the garment criss-cross of the garment. Thus the pull of shoulder strap 46 is distributed through the edges 26 and 33 to the anchorage points 28 and 32 respectively, while the pull of shoulder strap 45 is distributed through the edges 36 and 48 to the anchorage points 38 and 42 respectively. It is to be noted, as shown in Fig. 3, that the lower anchorage points 28 and 38 are positioned substantially at the lower bust line, whereas the upper anchorage points 32 and 42 are positioned substantially along an upper bust line. The distribution of the tension of the shoulder straps 45 and 46 to these anchorage points therefore tends to take up any looseness of the garment in front, either across the lower bust line or across the upper bust line, thereby constricting the material in front beneath and above the middle bust line and giving, in the normal set of the garment, a form-fitting, slightly supppressing action across the bust, but with the major part of the constricting action being directed across the lower bust line. Nevertheless, as shown in Fig, 4, when the tension is released from the shoulder straps, the garment is substantially enlarged along the lower and upper bust line circumferences, thereby permitting easy removal of the garment, or lessening the constricting characteristics of the garment during excess activity on the part of the wearer of a type which eases the tension on one or both shoulder straps. The effect of the overlapping panels 20 and 22 is to permit an opening of the upper back section on such occasions, allowing the fabric along the seam line l2 to extend to its maximum length, unlimited by any narrowing cross pull exerted through the panel edges 26 and 35.

Furthermore, since the edges 26 and 35 are anchored at oppositely remote points 28 and 38 respectively, there is a tendency to retain the shoulder straps 45 and 45 on the shoulder of the wearer with the pull on each strap being directed towards the inside-that is, towards the center of the back of the garment. The distribution of the wales of the knit fabric, when used, in a horizontal direction in the upper panelsfront, back, or both, permits extensibility and elasticity vertically of the upper sections, thereby easing the tension on the shoulder straps both in the normal set of the garment and during activity, so that cutting of the skin by the narrow straps 45 and 46 is avoided, while the preferred composite tape shoulder straps integral with the garment bindings afford a connection of superior strength and durability.

While the drawing indicates the use of knit fabric both in the lower body or skirt portion and in the upper body portion of the garment,

retained. For instance, the construction is adapted for use in the manufacture of chemises, vests or other womens, misses or junior misses garments, where it is desired to secure the advantages resulting from the incorporation of any of the features of this invention, and the term womans is used in the appended claims to include misses and junior misses sizes. Also it is apparent that the contour of the lower body or skirt portion below the seams IE} and 12, or the particular arrangement of the seams therein, may be varied, depending upon the particular type of garment.

I claim:

1. A womans shoulder-supported undergarment comprising a lower body portion, and an upper body portion including a shaped front bust area and an upper back portion, said upper body portion being seamed to said lower body portion along a seam defining a circumferential lower bust line, said upper back portion comprising two overlapping criss-cross panels, the bottom edge of each panel being seamed substantially across its lower edge to the back lower body portion, the side edge of each panel being seamed to the front bust area, and the upper edges of each panel including portions of unequal length and meeting at an apex to form rear shoulder strap connecting points, one on either side of woven fabric may be utilized in whole or in part,

in any or all of the panels. When, however, the upper portion is woven fabric either in front or in back, there will be corresponding sacrifice of the extensibility which is afforded by the use of the preferred knit material having the wales running horizontally as shown.

In garments other than slips, the skirt or lower body portion may be suitably reduced in length, but the improved construction of the bust area and cooperating back panels may be the center line of the back of the garment, the shorter upper edges of said panels being continuations of the upper front bust area edges of the garment, and the longer upper edges of said panels criss-crossing each other and being permanently attached at diametrically opposed points in the side seams of the garment adjacent said lower circumferential bust line, and shoulder straps connecting the apexes of the back panels with the front bust area whereby, in the normal set of the garment on the wearer, the combined pull of the shoulder straps is distributed crisscros of the back of said garment to said attachment points, thereby constricting the material of the fi ont bust area along the lower bust line of, the garment.

2. A womans shoulder-supported undergarment, comprising a lower body portion and an upper body portion including a shaped front bust area, and an upper back portion, said upper body portion being seamed to said lower body portion along a seam defining a circumferential lower bust line, said upper back portion comprising two overlapping criss-cross panels, the bottom edge of each panel being seamed substantially across its lower edge to the back lower body portion, side edges of each panel being seamed to the front bust area by side seams extending substantially vertically at both sides of said garment, and upper edges of each back panel being continuations of the upper front bust area edges of the garment and extending criss-crossingly downwardly and being permanently attached at opposed points in the side seams of the garment below the center bust line, and shoulder straps connecting the back panels with the front bust area, whereby, in the normal set of the garment on the wearer, the combined pull of the shoulder straps is distributed criss-cross of the back of said garment constricting the material of the lower bust area long the lower bust line of the garment.

ELIZABETH BUNKER CLARK. 

